Junior rugby — Raetihi vs Waiouru

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 584, 2 May 1995, Page 14

Junior rugby — Raetihi vs Waiouru

Raetihi played hosts to the Waiouru junior rugby club over the weekend with all the games played in excellent spirit. The weather, being the coolest this season, did not deter what was an excellent turn-out by both clubs. Each grade was able to boast increasing numbers turning up to games. In this age of 24-hour television it was encouraging to see the commitment the young players are making to go out-of-doors and enjoy the participation of a team-sport. This participation directly relates to the help and support of parents and caregivers. As Saturday mornings get colder and wetter hopefully their support will continue. Midgets The midgets on both sides fielded very full teams. The referee needed the support of coaches and supporters to control very active and spirited games. They are now beginning to play as a team with good runs by everybody. The only try scorer for Raetihi was Shaun Hall. The player-of-the-day was Kristane Edmonds and the most-improved-player was A J Linch. Waiouru were the winners 10-5. It is no mean task coaching a group of determined midgets to run in the right direction or kerbing the desire to tackle your own players because they have the ball! Juniors Waiouru proved to be the better team against a very determined junior team. A more structured support game is beginning to show with players learning the team game. The player-of-the-day was Francis Hutchings with the most improved player being Patrick Mowat. Intermediates An excellent turn-out by the intermediates saw some players able to take a rest and allow all 25 who turned up

to play a game. Ball-skills and Vision were very apparent in the play of the Raetihi team. In true Raetihi style (and maybe because of the cold wind) the game started slowly. A better second-half effort saw the final score 33- to ?. Fraser Hammond showed great running skills scoring three tries. Thomas Kavanagh was able to slot four conversions and score a try. Sam Penning ran in a try as well. The most-improved-player was Anthony Te Huia. The player-of-the-day was Thomas Kavanagh. Seniors The Raetihi senior team travelled to Wanganui to play as a local fixture and could not be arranged. A 37-0 loss took the smile off the boys faces after their win last week, the size of their opponents being a telling factor. The sheer pace and size of the Wanganui team rattled the Raetihi team in the first half. The beginning of the second half showed the determination and defensi ve skills of the team. They were able to hold the Wanganui team scorers until 1 0 minutes to go in the half when Wanganui scored through some lapses in defence and cold memories of the first-half. Thanks went to the parents who assisted in transporting the team to Wanganui.